Local News
Letter To The Editor: Catholic Relief Services Active In Gaza
Published: January 29, 2009
To the Editor:
Concerning the letter to the editor published Jan. 22 in The Georgia Bulletin, readers might be interested to know about Catholic Relief Services’ and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ advocacy efforts relating to the crisis in Gaza. We urge all Georgia Catholics to become a member of our CRS advocacy network at http://actioncenter.crs.org.
The highlights below offer just a sample of the work by the U.S. Catholic Church that has taken place on this issue to date through CRS and USCCB. The CRS advocacy messages on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, consistent with the USCCB position, remain the following: call for immediate cessation of hostilities/ceasefire; call for unimpeded humanitarian access into and within Gaza for international organizations; and call for U.S. leadership and re-engagement in negotiations toward a permanent two-state solution.
Together with the USCCB, CRS has issued several advocacy action alerts since the beginning of the crisis, asking U.S. Catholics and others of good will to: urge President Bush to negotiate an immediate ceasefire; call on President Obama to make peace in the Middle East a priority issue; and urge all members of Congress to support strong U.S. diplomatic leadership to achieve an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire.
… Church leaders have written to the Secretary of State, and CRS and USCCB have conducted numerous meetings on Capitol Hill with key leaders as well as with the State Department.An emergency humanitarian relief bulletin has also been issued for CRS constituents seeking urgent financial support. At this writing, CRS working in the Holy Land remains poised to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as blockades are removed.
Again, we urge all Georgia Catholics to become a member of our CRS advocacy network.
Cullen Larson, Program Officer / Advocacy Catholic Relief Services Atlanta
